Well, news is pouring in that Welker has an ACL/MCL tear and will miss the playoffs. There's also the possibility that Welker wont be the same after he recovers. I hope he can return to form, but for now lets think of the playoffs and who is going to play in Welker's place.

Can Edelman do a decent job replacing Welker in his rookie season, and his first season as a WR? He had ten receptions for 103 yards today, and eight receptions for 98 yards against the Jets when Welker was out. He also has a 9.7 yards average, which isn't bad as Welker has ranged from 10.5 to 11. Neither are the kind of player to run deep often, so not having those 60 yard TDs brings their average down a little. Very Welkeresque numbers in those games when Welker didn't play.

Could these playoffs be the birth of a new unlikely star? I think it will be.

Edit: Before todays game Edelman had 27 receptions for 256 yards. His receptions ranked 17th overall out of all rookie WRs and he missed a lot of playing time with a broken fore arm. He now has 37 receptions, which will bump him up on that list. He has improved tremendously as a WR, and learned from the best slot receiver in the NFL this year. I think he's something special.

Welker's not an easy guy to replace. Edelman is a similar style of player but he doesn't seem to have quite the same sure hands as Welker, at least not yet. I think the Pats have to get the TEs more involved along with utilizing Edelman. It won't be a one-for-one replacement. Several of the receivers are going to have to step up. The one hidden positive about this mostly negative situation is that Brady may start spreading the ball a bit more . . . and I think that may actually help us a bit even if it can't make up for the loss of one of our two best receivers.

No, but what you said is very true. I believe he will do a decent job and more than adequate job of fulfilling what ever roles he plays.

Welker had 29 receptions in his first 31 games as a pro.

Edelman has 37 receptions in his first 11 games as a pro

What does it mean? Nothing! ... but i believe he is a good player already and will only get better. How much of the void can he fill that was left by Welker's injury? I have no idea. ....but I have hope.

he is still new to this whole wide receiver thing... give him this offseason and i think he could be awesome. that being said, no one can replace welker, but the real question is will welker ever be the same. i certainly hope so.

Brady will need to play much smarter - and go to the open receiver; regardless of who that may be. If he forces the ball to Moss - just because he feels like it - then the results will be turnovers; which the Patriots can ill afford at this stage of the season.

Physically, yes. He has the same type of physical build and ability to quickly shift and cut, but in terms of football experience and smarts, not yet. It will take time and Brady and Edelman will have to build some repoir this week in practice and in the playoffs. So, the answer is yes and no, but it will take time. I am more worried about the defense.

Earlier in the season Edelman's only real weakness was lack of knowledge of the playbook and lack of playing time with Tommy, after today's performance that doesn't seem to be an issue. He will replace Wes nicely in the slot and if we go far in the playoffs it will be because we run the ball and play defense, both of which I think we will do and do well... Pats still win the Superbowl.

this will be interesting. edelman can play. edelman will play. what happens if edelman fills in nicely and welker comes back? we've seen how ruthless BB can be when it comes to making roster adjustments and cap space. hopefully it'll all work out.

Gotta do what you gotta do. Edelman has to step in and there is not doubt he can play. The good news, the running game is VASTLY improved versus earlier in the year and the Pats will be healthier overall, save for WW.

Wozzy - While we are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to Maroney, I completely agree about Edelmann. The guy is also playing with a fractured forearm and still making catches. I think he will fill in nicely as well.

Lets face it....you really can't replace a Welker. You can't replace a Moss, or a Brady, or any other premier player in just about any position in any sport. But Edelmann is so much of a step down. You could paste 83 on his chest and 95% of the people in the stands wouldn't know the difference. 103 yard day is outstanding and more games like that will carry help push the Pats through the playoffs.

For the record, we host the Ravens. The posters here are right - no one player makes up for Welker. Has to be a team effort. Edelman's presence can help. Big thing is Fred Taylor/running game. If the Pats can play a good running game in the playoffs they might have a shot. Having said that the loss of Welker hurts badly.

Edelman can certainly fill in for Welker, he has the same skill set as Welker, aside from his slightly worse hands. I suspect he will work on improving his hands this off season, so for next year he should be good to go. I have to agree with most people here, Welker's absence won't be a deciding factor this postseason, it will come down to running the ball and our defense.

Yea not sure who thought we would be hosting the jets, but nice try. First off we should ask him to and not expect him to. The biggest thing we lost was experience and trust with 12. He will give you production, if we can get 6-8 catches a game, thats more than enough. Mix in a reverse with him and the biggest thing is just making sure he's involved. Losing 81 would be much harder, we can try and get the tight ends involved and throw some screens, quick outs to the backs. Taylor is ok catching the ball and will be key IMHO helping this team move on. Moss gets U a constant double team, which helps everyone from the running backs, tight ends, and the slot rec. Not to mention hes our only true scoring threat on O. Please, Im not trying to diminish WW role on this team at all, he was prolly our MVP and one of the best possession rec's in the game, if not the best. Hey this team needs to step up and the whole team knows everyone's going to be looking at them to see how they respond.

No one can replace Wes, but Edelman, Watson, Baker and Aiken can. We are not the New England Welkers; we are the Patriots! We were winning championships before we got Wes Welker and Randy Moss and we had considerably less talent at the WR position. We know defenses are going to double Moss, what are the others going to do? Time for Brady to go back to making no-name WRs-- makes me wonder if we can bring Reche Caldwell back-- into future contract busts.

Wozzy - While we are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to Maroney, I completely agree about Edelmann. The guy is also playing with a fractured forearm and still making catches. I think he will fill in nicely as well.

Lets face it....you really can't replace a Welker. You can't replace a Moss, or a Brady, or any other premier player in just about any position in any sport. But Edelmann is so much of a step down.

Well we agree on Edelman at least... I did notice that Bill sat Maroney along with the rest of his crucial starters. I can understand why he didn't want to sit the starters in the passing game though, it seems like we've building chemistry as the season went on and it was still a question mark. In hindsight though I wished he had...

There was no reason to play any starters really, the result was the same either way and there was nothing to gain. It's easy to sit here and second guess but I still like our chances. Moss would have been impossible to replace but we have Edelman behind Wes and he looks pretty good to me.